The Providence of Pandora
"If you want to learn of Providencism, you should speak with the Monks of Providence." '' 'The Providence of Pandora The Providence of Pandora is composed of five deities. The White Warrior: Miphortis The God Miphortis is known as the White Warrior. He is viewed as strong, unwavering, and stubborn. He is often spoken of as being the God of Honor, Livelihood, Strength, and is known as Pandora's Champion. The Righteous Maiden: Luluja The Goddess Luluja is known as the Righteous Maiden. She is viewed as justified, moral, and level-headed. She is believed to be the Goddess of Goodness, Morality, Virtue, Growth, and Holiness. The Vigilant Shield: Tudorn The God Tudorn is known as the Vigilant Shield. In the Providence he is seen as the fatherly one of the bunch. He is viewed as steadfast, wise, protective, and cautious. He is believed to be the God of Protection, Family, Friendship, and Awareness. The Clever Warden: Viska The Goddess Viska is known as the Clever Warden. She is neutral in comparison to the rest of the Gods. She is viewed as neither good nor evil, and was more the wanderer and watcher of the Providence. She is recollected as a wise and cunning woman who does not often associate with the others of the Providence. Viska is believed to be the Goddess of the Moons, the Cosmos, of Wisdom, and Persuasion. The Infernal Sovereign: Noctum The God Noctum is known as the Infernal Sovereign. He is the evil or wicked one of the Providence. He is viewed as intellectual and devious, as well as a collector of power. Noctum is revered by some and hated by others. He is believed to be the God of Darkness, Night, Death, and Rebellious Desires. He is known by two other names as well, being the Brother of Harvest, and the Father of Mantra. 'The Tale of Providence ' Long, long ago, there was a race of superior creatures known as Ancients. They were nomadic in nature and often sought places worth resting and settling. Five such Ancients traveled together, this group being Miphortis, Luluja, Tudorn, Viska, and Noctum. They traveled in the security of a massive crystallized asteroid which was known as Godhand. When Godhand crashed upon the slumbering planet of Pandora, the crystal barrier shattered and the five Ancients awoke. What they saw was a desolate rock of a planet that's only hopeful advantage was breathable air and a strong life-sustaining atmosphere. To test the planet to see if life could grow, Luluja, Viska, and Noctum began to scry the planet for signs of life and power. What they found was the slumbering power of the planet, the living essence of Pandora locked away deep in its stony shell. The Life Stream had been felt. The five then made it their goal to awaken the planet so that Pandora may then flourish. And so they did- together. They stirred the planet and Pandora's stony shell fractured and broke, and through its chasms and cracks did the Life Stream spill out. It crossed over the land and dipped into its rocky valleys. The essence of Pandora made some stone turn into fertile soul where sprouts began to bloom, while other depths it filled with rain from storm clouds that started to litter the sky. Trees grew, water flowed, and soon enough continents and oceans had formed upon Pandora. Even the Life Stream outstretched to its Moons, cocooning the entirety of Pandora and its nearby orbit to kiss the Moons with the essence of life before it finally fell back unto Pandora's base and started to cycle itself more calmly. But with Pandora's awakening came something else the five were not yet ready for, and nor would they expect it when it finally came... Time went by. Plants and animals grew and the Ancients found this place a suitable place to live. Pandora's unleashed beauty was a thing to marvel. But such beauty often can tear people apart- and inevitably it did so to the Ancient settlers of Pandora. Noctum believed that Pandora was not being utilized to its fullest. The power of the Life Stream was too much to not take advantage of. He told them that they could drink from this planet and become Cosmic Gods, Creators who traveled and gave life or took it as they pleased. But Miphortis, Luluja, and Tudorn frowned upon his concepts and ideas. Dejected and turned away, Noctum decided that he would do these things alone and show them as he became a Cosmic God of his own right. As he broke away and the three that frowned upon him became pitted, the fourth of the group slipped away seemingly to ignore the differences between them and focus on Pandora and the beauty of the sky. What started out as fairly simple differences soon engaged them in a battle. And before long the four started a raging War upon Pandora. Noctum had been siphoning the Life Stream for himself and growing his dark Mantra so that he could soon use his power to rip the essence of Pandora clean from the planet and depart with it. Luluja preached morality and what was right and wrong, and the Warrior Miphortis and the Shield Tudorn swore to protect and uphold the justice and goodness she spoke of. They fought endlessly with Noctum, and tried to defeat him before he could drink from Pandora any further. The fight was even though and Noctum was only growing stronger. He would soon defeat Miphortis and Tudron, and they knew it. But Luluja studied Noctum and meditated, reaching out to the Cosmos to grasp at the power of their people, the unspeakable Godly essence and vigor. Soon she found the ability to use Mantra, only she used a different sort than Noctum. Noctum used Mantra from wicked and dark emotions, and Luluja had trained herself to create Mantra from positive emotions and meditation. When Luluja came into the fight, it seemed Noctum would soon be defeated. The three "Holy" Ancients fought viciously with Noctum, but only the fourth- Viska- seemed to realize something was amiss. The more they fought the more the planet seemed to submerge into darkness. The crops withered, the seas turning black, and the air becoming thin and harsh. Maybe the others thought it was simply the war and Noctum's power, but Viska knew that it was Pandora- a living planet- stirring as the war raged on. Noctum was on his last leg, nearly defeated when the day of the reaping came. He reached into the soils of Pandora and tapped into the Life Stream once more, drinking from it to empower himself. And this time when he did, he pushed Pandora the last little inch it needed to switch into its 'alter ego' existence. The dark side of Pandora was the wickedness of its essence, a form known as "Harvest". As the planet turned against them, the world was wiped and razed. Harvest turned against the Ancients and devoured all five of them, ripping them asunder and engulfing them in the Life Stream as they were given to it, sacrificed against their will really. The only Ancient who willingly gave herself to the Life Stream and Harvest's wrath was Viska. The world was wiped clean, and Harvest settled. Pandora re-emerged, but now the Life Stream was retreating. As if denied its freedom because of Harvest's destruction, the world was preparing to return to its stony lifeless nature. But the Ancients who'd been devoured ascended in the Life Stream, becoming deities bound to Pandora and its Moons. They were no longer of physical bodies but their spiritual essences still had power that lingered in Pandora by their ties. All five of the dead Ancients used what of their power remained to keep the Life Stream from retreating and convinced Pandora to remain awakened. And all over now, did the world find itself reborn and flourishing again. This time as the Life Stream spilled over its surface creating life, a new series of creatures were made. Humanoids, bipedal and comprehensive and smart, were formed from the new Creation events. Pandora made them each different varying races of bipedal intellectuals, but their base design was derived from the concept of the Ancients themselves, thus deriving all humanoid races from the Ancients... As people grew, many of them knew of the deities. The people of Pandora even began to call them the Providence of Pandora. The deities while civilization was young and primitive made themselves well known. They even helped people grow and learn, and helped tend Pandora alongside the civilizations. But as time continued on and science began to play into Pandora's tale, the deities became less and less frequently appearing. While still present they have lingered back, causing some to discard a sense of religion. Many Monks believe that the distance the Gods have put between themselves and the people of Pandora is a sign that Harvest will come again. Others believe that perhaps a Godly War is preparing to emerge again. '''Providencism Providencism is the name of the religion that surrounds worshipping the Providence of Pandora. Some who follow Providencism only worship a select few of the Providence, while some people worship and pray to all of them. Providencism in its older or more ancient studies also views Pandora as the All-Mother and preaches practices about living off of the land and tending Pandora with respect and gratitude. Providencism is broken into two main strands at current date. One is the modern version, which mostly exercises the power of prayer to the Gods. It is otherwise lax and sometimes questions the Providence. The other is the ancient version, which is full of unique and strange rituals and mysticism. The practices of Ancient Providencism exercises the idea of self-sacrifice to Pandora and giving thanks to the Gods for their gifts- seen and unseen- upon Pandora. There are a series of people on Pandora who follow Providencism more strictly than others. Maesters of the Providence Maesters are mostly Men who dedicate their lives through vigorous and life-long oaths to Pandora and the Providence. They are the true tellers of the story of the Providence and are sometimes believed to be fluent in the language of Ancients. Many Maesters are believed to be able to speak to the Gods and sense changes in the Life Stream. Maesters are extremely rare to come by, and most have fled major cities to live in solitude in the nature of Pandora. Monks of the Warrior Monks of the Warrior are often righteous fighters. They pray to Miphortis for strength and are excellent martial artists. For the right cause, Monks will often serve others as fighters in the name of Miphortis to prove themselves as loyal and just combatants following the moral code of the Holy Trio. Monks of the Warrior are often seen wearing white. Monks of the Maiden Monks of the Maiden are teachers of moral goodness and virtue. These are law-abiding monks who teach right from wrong and practice it well. They are the epitome of holiness and selflessness. Monks of the Maiden often pray to Luluja for patience and peace, for self-growth and to live life kind and virtuous. Some Monks of the Maiden have achieved the mysterious and scarce 'holy Mantra', and use it for healing purposes. Monks of the Maiden are often seen wearing yellow. Monks of the Shield Monks of the Shield are defenders and keepers of orphans and lost men. They often open their shrines for travelers to take rest and are kind and protective. They are known for being hospitable and will protect those in trouble from unjust men and women who may wish to hurt them. Monks of the Shield are known for being durable, selfless fighters. Monks of the Shield are often seen wearing blue. Monks of the Warden Monks of the Warden are neutral keepers of the land and astrology. They stray from political affairs and do not often take sides in arguments or disagreements. They are relatively peaceful and very interesting monks who are skillful in agriculture, reading the constellations, and living off of the land. Monks of the Warden often pray to the Goddess Viska for wisdom, and many Monks of the Warden grow up to be scholars who teach others the truth about the Providence and how important taking care of Pandora is. Monks of the Warden also have a practice known as 'Reaping Fruition', whereas a grown Monk who believes he / she has fully lived their life commits suicide to give themselves willingly to the Life Stream for the sake of preventing Harvest from awakening. Monks of the Warden wear purple. Monks of the Sovereign Monks of the Sovereign are dark and eerie to be around. They often do not speak to others outside of their brotherhood unless they are trying to convince others to come into the shrine itself. Their vows are not as strict as other monks and they practive heavily in Mantra. Monks of the Sovereign are great fighters because they mix their martial arts with skillful Mantra use, often making them deadly. They also are nocturnal, and sometimes are mistaken for assassins and rogues. These monks often believe in giving themselves to Noctum, so that if he ascends existence that he will take them with him. They also pray to him for power, intelligence, and home within the darkness to come. Some Monks of Sovereign preach a very taboo sacred Rite of Noctum which preaches about a possible ritual to stifle Harvest from returning. Monks of the Sovereign wear black. Category:Religion Category:Directory Category:Information